Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Thursday, March 9, 2023.
Owner of a 35pc stake in ground handling firm Dnata Zanzibar revealed
Dar es Salaam. Maxima Corporation Limited, is the company that owns a 35 per cent stake in the cargo handling company Dnata Zanzibar Aviation Services Co. Ltd, is owned by one Suleiman Hamad Ali (51 per cent), Savannah International (Z) Ltd (45 per cent), and one Sufiyan Aiyub Hafej (four per cent), The Chanzo reveals.
The remaining 65 per cent of the company is owned by an Emirati airport services provider Dubai National Air Travel Agency (dnata), the company whose operations at the Terminal 3 of the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport have caused much debate lately, particularly on the legality of its acquisition of the deal.
The Tanzania Civil Aviation (Ground Handling Services) regulation provides that for a company to be granted a ground handling service license, it must be locally registered and 35 percent of the total shares must be owned by Tanzanians.
Company documents reviewed by The Chanzo describe Suleiman Hamad Ali, who is the largest shareholder of the Maxima Corporation as a Tanzanian national born and living in Mjini Magharib region, Unguja.
The Chanzo tried to get hold of Mr Ali so that it could ask him a few questions regarding his ownership of the company, but our efforts failed to bear any fruits at the time of reporting.
The mobile numbers identified in the documents as Ali’s could not be picked up despite being called repeatedly. The Chanzo also couldn’t find the house mentioned in the documents reviewed as Ali’s physical address.
Our revelation, however, comes at a time when there is a back and forth between the two parties in the Zanzibar government of national unity, with the opposition party ACT-Wazalendo demanding answers from the government over the legal owner of the 35 per cent stake in Dnata Zanzibar Aviation Services Co. Ltd.
Full story here.
World Bank study identifies five areas Zanzibar can work on to improve its public service
A new study by the World Bank has identified five critical interdependent areas that the Zanzibar government can work on to improve its public service.
Released on March 8, 2023, the study was carried out at the request of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar to provide a benchmark assessment of overall public service management and performance in Zanzibar and look in particular at the role of information and communication technology (ICT) to deliver better services to the people.
Titled Zanzibar: Diagnostic Study to Enhance Public Service Governance, the study identifies five priority challenges as the most impactful areas for public service reform in Zanzibar.
The study notes that the first challenge is the overlapping roles and responsibilities of the various centres of government agencies in public service management, which hinders the maximisation of the contribution of both the commissions and the service ministry.
As a solution, the study recommends revisiting the roles and responsibilities of the commissions, President’s Office, Constitution, Legal Affairs, Public Service and Good Governance (PO-CLAPSGG), and the ministries, departments and agencies to ensure the ministry becomes the prime entity in leading public service reforms.
“The technical capacity of staff should be strengthened within the centre of government and commissions through training, knowledge exchange platforms, or merit-based recruitment, to enable successful execution of their expected tasks and responsibilities,” the study suggests.
The study also identified the high government wage bill despite considerably low wages paid to civil servants as another challenge, which makes the government unable to recruit, retain, and motivate qualified and experienced staff on an equitable and competitive basis that is fiscally affordable.
“We recommend conducting an in-depth analysis of critical jobs to establish the right workforce requirement and levels, in addition to redeployment and staff retraining for greater productivity,” the study urges.
Another challenge is the inadequate adoption and implementation of ICT systems in public service management. With only 20 per cent of civil servants having access to laptops and computers, the study observes that public service in Zanzibar faces a significant shortage of working tools and equipment.
Other challenges identified are making the Performance Management System (PMS) work as a tool to improve performance and inadequate staff development programs to address technical and institutional capacity needs for improved public service delivery.
“In short, policy goals and the underlying principles of public service are clear,” the study concludes. “The task for Zanzibar is refining the steps to be taken in each area of modernisation, recognising the interdependencies, and moving forward with implementation.”
NMB Bank lists first-ever Sub-Saharan gender bond to Luxembourg Stock Exchange
NMB Bank joined the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) recently to celebrate the display of the bank’s Sh74 billion gender bond on the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), it was reported on Thursday.
Aimed at bringing much-needed financing to women-owned micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Tanzania, this is the first-ever gender bond issued in the East Africa region.
Luxembourg Minister of Finance Yuriko Backes, who officially launched the Luxembourg Women in Finance Charter during the International Women’s Day event, commented that the listing marks an important milestone for global efforts to promote gender finance and underlines the Luxembourg Stock Exchange’s pioneering role in helping to drive new and emerging sustainable financial products.
“By directing capital towards initiatives that empower women and advance their participation in the economy,” Yurick said, “the financial sector can thus support the unlocking of new opportunities for growth and innovation to help build a more equitable and sustainable future for all.”
The proceeds of the social bond are expected to provide up to 3,000 women in Tanzania with access to the financing necessary to start or grow their businesses.
By dedicating 100 per cent of the bond’s proceeds to such projects, NMB’s gender bond is expected to allow many women in Tanzania to enjoy financial independence and build a future for themselves, their families and their communities.
NMB Bank CEO Ruth Zaipuna said driving inclusive growth through gender equality and women’s economic empowerment is one of the core tenets guiding NMB Bank’s purpose and vision.
“The listing of the bond on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange underscores our commitment towards gender empowerment and marks yet another history for the bank, for being the first Sub-Saharan bank to bring a gender-based bond to an exchange with a fast-growing reputation as a hub for sustainable finance,” she said. “We are glad to contribute to the exchange’s role.”
Also known as NMB Bank’s Jasiri bond – meaning brave in Swahili – the bond was issued under the bank’s Social Bond Framework, which is aligned with the International Capital Market Association’s Social Bond Principles.
Africa Road Builders’ Inaugural Conference 2023 to take place in Tanzania in April
The General Commission of the Africa Road Builders – Trophée Babacar Ndiaye has announced its Inaugural Conference 2023 will take place in Tanzania on April 05, 2023, a statement released on Thursday stated.
Barthelemy Kouame, CEO of an information platform on infrastructure and roads in Africa Acturoutes, the choice of venue follows the tradition of the continental event, which is in its 8th edition this year.
Organised under the theme ‘Sustainable Mobility in Africa, Lever of Development,’ the conference will serve as an opportunity to follow various communications on the road and transport in Tanzania.
Mr Kouame said that members of the Selection Committee also planned a visit to road and transport infrastructure.
“More than 20 journalists from all regions of the continent and forming the Selection Committee, will meet to designate the 2023 winner of the Super Prize Great Builder – Trophée Babacar Ndiaye,” he said.
The Inaugural Conference also aims to promote the host country and its leaders for the achievements recorded in road and transport.
The Africa Road Builders – Trophée Babacar Ndiaye was created in 2016, in tribute to Dr Babacar Ndiaye, the 5th President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), from 1985 to 1995.
In April 2022, President Samia Suluhu Hassan was named the 2022 winner of the Africa Road Builders–Babacar Ndiaye Trophy after “demonstrating an intense commitment to developing the transport infrastructure on the continent,” the organisers said.
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